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The ‘Luggable’ laptop, how does it look today? Part I — Toshiba T3100
Nowadays laptops are compact, lightweight, and powerful. But how did it all begin? Here is the review of the Toshiba T3100/20 made in 1986 — one of the first ‘luggable’ laptops.
It is always nice to have a portable computer with all the files, documents, and programs installed, especially for people who travel often or work from different locations. But in the 80s the average personal computer was looking like this:
There was almost no chance to use it as a “portable”, though some companies like Compaq, tried to make a portable PC with a CRT tube (I will publish another review of that machine, stay tuned). But sooner or later, the electronics became faster and smaller in size, bulky CRT tubes were also replaced with flat and more lightweight screens, and finally, we get a hero of our story:
Before we begin, a small remark. I know that “professional” copywriters can “compile” any review about any tech, from the Apollo spaceship to Large Hadron Collider, using only Google Search. And in general, it works — almost all specs and details can be found on the web. But browsing the online pages cannot give the feeling of the real use of such a device. Was it heavy and convenient to carry, was it comfortable to type using the keyboard, how was the screen quality, and so on. When I became curious about what using the very first laptop looked like, I decided to buy one on my own. It’s pretty easy to do it, the prices of these machines are in the $100–300 range on eBay. And it gives much more fun, to restore this machine if needed and to investigate how it works.
Let’s get started.
Hardware
The Toshiba T3100/20 was released in 1986, with an initial price of 6,899 USD ($17,220 in 2021). It’s a pretty decent amount of money, even today not so many people can afford a computer for this price. What specs can customers get for this? Well, Toshiba T3100/20 has a 16-bit 80286 CPU with an 8 MHz frequency, 640K RAM, gas-plasma monochrome display with a 640x400 resolution, 20 MB hard disk, and 720 KB 3.5" floppy disk drive…
